One of the major goals at Nick's Foundation is to provide educational scholarships and financial support to high school and college student-athletes to advance their college education.
As part of that financial support, in June 2017 and in June 2018, the Nicholas J. Murphy Foundation gave out a total of ten $2,500.00 scholarships (for a total disbursement of $25,000.00) to deserving student-athletes.
2017 Scholarship Recipients with The Murphy Family. Pictured from left to right:Theresa Murphy, Grant Murphy, Hunter Mitchell, Jena Brooks, Nate Hinnen, Delaney Murphy, Ed Murphy, Jhonny Ghantous, and Alec Murphy
We were originally planning to give out two scholarships per year: one $2,500.00 scholarship to a female student-athlete and one $2,500.00 scholarship to a male student-athlete, graduating from Dunlap High School in honor of Nick Murphy's academic and athletic career prior to him joining the United States Navy.
However, due to the success of the Foundation's fundraising efforts, and due to the fact that we had so many deserving student-athletes apply, we were able to pay it forward by increasing the total scholarships from two to five and the total college funds distributed from $5,000.00 to $12,500.00 per year.
Play the video below to hear more about the scholarships from Nick Murphy’s big brother, Grant Murphy:
2018 Nick Murphy Achievement Scholarship Recipients
Please join us in congratulating this year’s Nick Murphy Achievement Scholarship Recipients: Zach Stirnaman, Sage Bessert, Jack Frank, Clara Fitzpatrick, and Matthew Pichaske!
Zach Stirnaman played football and baseball at Dunlap High School, was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and held a job during the summer at Mt. Hawley. He prides himself on sacrificing his time to better himself and others, in turn running on little to no sleep. He will be attending ICC in the fall and will pursue a degree in Actuarial Science. Congratulations, Zach Stirnaman!
Sage Bessert was a part of the soccer, track, and cross-country teams at Dunlap High School, and was on the board of the Key Club. She believes, “Life would be so much less tasteful without believing in the good and without giving everything you’ve got to reach your ultimate goal.” She will be attending Clemson University to pursue a degree in International Studies. Congratulations, Sage Bessert!
Jack Frank (not pictured) was a member of the basketball, track, cross-country, and wrestling teams at Peoria Notre Dame High School. Throughout the past few years he has done over 260 hours of volunteer work for various groups. After earning almost 30 college credit hours in High School, he will be entering ICC this Fall as a Sophomore. Congratulations, Jack Frank!
Clara Fitzpatrick played softball and volleyball at Dunlap High School and was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She wakes up at 4:15 a.m. almost every morning for kickboxing and strength training and loves volunteering at The A.R.K. no-kill animal shelter as well as at Northwoods Church. She will be continuing her softball career next year at Waubonsee Community College. There she will study Aviation and pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. Congratulations, Clara Fitzpatrick!
Matthew Pichaske was a member of the baseball and golf teams while at Dunlap High School. He also had leadership roles in Relay for Life, Young Life, and his church’s Youth Group. In the fall, he will attend Olivet Nazarene University to study Sports Management, and plans on joining the school’s ROTC unit. Congratulations, Matthew Pichaske!
